Nutrition

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A diet high in a form of sugar found in sweetened soft drinks and junk food raises blood pressure among men, according to research likely to mean more bad news for beverage companies and restaurant chains. One of two studies released on Wednesday provided the first evidence that fructose helps raise blood pressure. It also found that the drug allopurinol, used to treat gout, can alleviate the effect by reducing uric acid levels in the body. The second study, which measured fructose intake in mice, suggested that people who consume junk foods and sweetened soft drinks at night could gain weight faster than those who don't.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Younger white women with vitamin D deficiencies are about three times more likely to have high blood pressure in middle age than those with normal vitamin levels, according to a study released on Thursday. The study, presented at a meeting of the American Heart Association in Chicago, adds younger women to a growing list of people including men who may develop high blood pressure at least in part because of low vitamin D.

BERLIN (Reuters) - More than 124,000 people in Europe developed cancer last year because they are overweight, and rising body fat levels threaten to add tens of thousands more to their ranks, experts said on Thursday.

Weight loss with a low-carbohydrate, Mediterranean, or low-fat diet. Shai I, Schwarzfuchs D, Henkin Y, Shahar DR, Witkow S, Greenberg I, Golan R, Fraser D, Bolotin A, Vardi H, Tangi-Rozental O, Zuk-Ramot R, Sarusi B, Brickner D, Schwartz Z, Sheiner E, Marko R, Katorza E, Thiery J, Fiedler GM, Blüher M, Stumvoll M, Stampfer MJ; Dietary Intervention Randomized Controlled Trial (DIRECT) Group. N Engl J Med. 2008 Jul 17;359(3):229-41. PMID: 18635428 Conclusions Mediterranean and low-carbohydrate diets may be effective alternatives to low-fat diets. The more favorable effects on lipids (with the low-carbohydrate diet) and on glycemic control (with the Mediterranean diet) suggest that personal preferences and metabolic considerations might inform individualized tailoring of dietary interventions. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00160108 [ClinicalTrials.gov] .)

Vitamin D and multiple sclerosis. Hayes CE, Cantorna MT, DeLuca HF. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1997 Oct;216(1):21-7. Review. PMID: 9316607

Vitamin D: a natural inhibitor of multiple sclerosis. Hayes CE. Proc Nutr Soc. 2000 Nov;59(4):531-5. Review. PMID: 11115787

Measurement of vitamin D levels in inflammatory bowel disease patients reveals a subset of Crohn's disease patients with elevated 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D and low bone mineral density. Abreu MT, Kantorovich V, Vasiliauskas EA, Gruntmanis U, Matuk R, Daigle K, Chen S, Zehnder D, Lin YC, Yang H, Hewison M, Adams JS. Gut. 2004 Aug;53(8):1129-36. PMID: 15247180 doi: 10.1136/gut.2003.036657. Conclusions: These data demonstrate that elevated 1,25(OH)2D is more common in CD than previously appreciated and is independently associated with low bone mineral density. The source of the active vitamin D may be the inflamed intestine. Treatment of the underlying inflammation may improve metabolic bone disease in this subgroup of patients.

Vitamin D treatment in multiple sclerosis. Myhr KM. J Neurol Sci. 2009 Jun 22. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19549608 doi:10.1016/j.jns.2009.05.002 Epidemiological evidence combined with clinical and laboratory analyses, and experimental animal models, suggest a possible influence of vitamin D on MS susceptibility as well as clinical disease activity. Supplement with vitamin D may reduce the risk of developing MS. An intervention may also reduce the risk of conversion from a first clinical event suggestive of MS to clinical definite MS, as well as reduce the relapse rate among patients with relapsing remitting MS. More studies are, however, needed to determine optimal dose and serum level for vitamin D, as well as target populations and optimal timing for intervention.

Vitamin D, nervous system and aging. Tuohimaa P, Keisala T, Minasyan A, Cachat J, Kalueff A. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2009 Aug 4. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19660871

Explaining multiple sclerosis prevalence by ultraviolet exposure: a geospatial analysis. Beretich B, Beretich T. Mult Scler. 2009 Aug;15(8):891-8. PMID: 19667017 DOI: 10.1177/1352458509105579 Conclusion This analysis suggests a strong association between UV radiation and MS distribution, and an increase in risk for MS in those areas with a low UVI.

Vitamin D status is positively correlated with regulatory T cell function in patients with multiple sclerosis.\nSmolders J, Thewissen M, Peelen E, Menheere P, Cohen Tervaert JW, Damoiseaux J, Hupperts R.\nPLoS One. 2009 Aug 13;4(8):e6635.\nPMID: 19675671

Vitamin D: In the evolution of human skin colour. Yuen AW, Jablonski NG. Med Hypotheses. 2009 Aug 28. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19717244

Vitamin D metabolites as clinical markers in autoimmune and chronic disease. Blaney GP, Albert PJ, Proal AD. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2009 Sep;1173:384-90. PMID: 19758177 DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04875.x

Association study on two vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms and vitamin D metabolites in multiple sclerosis. Smolders J, Damoiseaux J, Menheere P, Tervaert JW, Hupperts R. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2009 Sep;1173:515-20. PMID: 19758194 DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04656.x Discussion: We found no association of the Apal and Taql VDR gene SNPs with MS or with vitamin D metabolism in our population. Further research should assess the complex interaction between vitamin D, the VDR, and susceptibility to MS.

Overview of general physiologic features and functions of vitamin D. DeLuca HF. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Dec;80(6 Suppl):1689S-96S. Review. PMID: 15585789

Vitamin D in cancer patients: above all, do no harm. Goodwin PJ. J Clin Oncol. 2009 May 1;27(13):2117-9. Epub 2009 Apr 6. PMID: 19349538

Dietary vitamin D and cancers of the oral cavity and esophagus. Lipworth L, Rossi M, McLaughlin JK, Negri E, Talamini R, Levi F, Franceschi S, La Vecchia C. Ann Oncol. 2009 Sep;20(9):1576-81. Epub 2009 Jun 1. PMID: 19487490 Conclusion: We observed inverse associations between dietary vitamin D intake and risk of SCCE and, perhaps, oral/pharyngeal cancer, which were most pronounced among heavy current smokers and heavy consumers of alcohol.

Prospective study of predictors of vitamin D status and cancer incidence and mortality in men. Giovannucci E, Liu Y, Rimm EB, Hollis BW, Fuchs CS, Stampfer MJ, Willett WC. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2006 Apr 5;98(7):451-9. PMID: 16595781 doi:10.1093/jnci/djj101 Conclusions: Low levels of vitamin D may be associated with increased cancer incidence and mortality in men, particularly for digestive-system cancers. The vitamin D supplementation necessary to achieve a 25(OH)D increment of 25 nmol/L may be at least 1500 IU/day.

The association of solar ultraviolet B (UVB) with reducing risk of cancer: multifactorial ecologic analysis of geographic variation in age-adjusted cancer mortality rates. Grant WB, Garland CF. Anticancer Res. 2006 Jul-Aug;26(4A):2687-99. PMID: 16886679 CONCLUSION: These results provide additional support for the hypothesis that solar UVB, through photosynthesis of vitamin D, is inversely-associated with cancer mortality rates, and that various other cancer risk-modifying factors do not detract from this link. It is thought that sun avoidance practices after 1980, along with improved cancer treatment, led to reduced associations in the latter period. The results regarding solar UVB should be studied further with additional observational and intervention studies of vitamin D indices and cancer incidence, mortality and survival rates.

The role of vitamin D in cancer prevention. Garland CF, Garland FC, Gorham ED, Lipkin M, Newmark H, Mohr SB, Holick MF. Am J Public Health. 2006 Feb;96(2):252-61. Epub 2005 Dec 27. Review. PMID: 16380576 DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2004.045260 Vitamin D status differs by latitude and race, with residents of the northeastern United States and individuals with more skin pigmentation being at increased risk of deficiency. A PubMed database search yielded 63 observational studies of vitamin D status in relation to cancer risk, including 30 of colon, 13 of breast, 26 of prostate, and 7 of ovarian cancer, and several that assessed the association of vitamin D receptor genotype with cancer risk. The majority of studies found a protective relationship between sufficient vitamin D status and lower risk of cancer. The evidence suggests that efforts to improve vitamin D status, for example by vitamin D supplementation, could reduce cancer incidence and mortality at low cost, with few or no adverse effects